It didn’t take Herculez Gomez long to show why the Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles signed him.

He made his Xolos debut as a halftime sub. He finished with a hat trick.

Gomez’s three second-half goals plus another from 18-year-old Chula Vista resident Paul Arriola powered the Xolos to a 6-0 win Thursday night at Estadio Caliente against overmatched Victoria of Honduras, clinching a spot in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League. The CCL resumes in March with the eight-team knockout phase.

With four games in nine days and first place in Group 7 virtually assured, Xolos coach Jorge Almiron used an almost entirely second-choice starting 11 that included Americans Arriola, Joe Corona and Greg Garza. Arriola scored in the 33rd minute but could have had several more, hitting the post and crossbar once each in the first half.

Diego Olsina and Emmanuel Cerda had the other goals in one of Tijuana’s most lopsided wins in club history.

Gomez, 31, was acquired three months ago from fellow Mexican club Santos Laguna, only to get knee surgery and miss the first 10 games of the Liga MX Apertura season. He subbed in for Corona at the break, and 15 minutes later had his first goal.

It was the second hat trick this season in the debut of a Xolos high-profile signing. Argentine forward Dario Benedetto had one 65 minutes into the Apertura opener in July, a 3-3 tie against Atlas. It took Gomez just 40 minutes to match that Thursday.

Next up for the Xolos are road games at Puebla (Sunday) and Club America (Tuesday), followed by a home date against Queretaro on Oct. 4 before a two-week break for World Cup qualifying.